Revealing the Past
by Deja Know I Been Lookin For Vu
Summary: Taking place right after Cynophobia, this sequel concerns Ash's past. Will we learn more about his father?
1. Chappie One

**********Title:** Revealing the Past  
**Author:** Deja Vu  
**Summary:**Taking place right after "Cynophobia," this sequel concerns Ash's past. Will we learn more about his father? **  
****Rating:** No language, some violence.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but this story is mine.  


_

* * *

Hound-houn...Hound-houn...Hound-houn..._

The named echoed through Pikachu's head, filling him with bitterness and anger.

Pikachu turned to face the Houndour, his eyes mere angry slits. He talked to her in a vicious low voice which the humans couldn't hear. _He's _my_ Pika-pi. All _you_ want to do is hurt him._

_That's not true,_ Flamekist told him, looking somewhat hurt. _I don't want to hurt Hound-houn anymore._

_You nearly killed my Pika-pi once. I won't let you try it again._

_I don't plan to,_ the canine told him honestly.

_I hope so,_ Pikachu said as he leaped up onto his kneeling trainer's shoulders. He glared down at the Houndour, his eyes glinting. _I'll be keeping my eyes on you._

Flamekist glared up at Pikachu in reply for a moment before turning her attention back to Ash's affections. "Hound," she said contentedly, her mood instantly improved.

Ash laughed. "I guess there's one thing you'll like being around with us trainers."

"Doun!" barked the canine happily.

Pikachu continued sulking on his trainer's shoulders.


	2. Following Flamekist

"So, where do we wanna go first?" Ash asked. He looked down at Flamekist, who was walking beside him. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go before I continue on my Pokémon journey?"

The Houndour thought for a moment, a strange pensive look on her face. Finally, she nodded, "Dour." Then she elaborated: _How about we continue going this way for a while? I'll let you know when to stop._

Ash, while he didn't catch every word of it, got the gist of what she said, and he replied, "All right, then. We'll keep on this path for a while."

If Brock and Misty were surprised that Ash could understand the Houndour, they didn't show it. Togepi merely trilled, "Prriiiii."

And so the group continued on the path they were walking on (while Ash, in a low voice, acquainted himself with the moves that Flamekist knew). It wasn't long before they ran into another Pokémon trainer, as they were prone to do.

But this was a somewhat unusual trainer.

This trainer, a female dressed in a hot pink shirt with the words "Hot Pink For Hot Pokémon Trainers" on it in a lime-green which matched the color of her pants and her long straight hair, stepped out of the bushes and pointed at them, yelling, "Hot Pink Pokémon trainers rock! My fab colors can beat your drab dog any day! You and your canine companion care for a battle?"

Ash and Misty stood blinking at her (while Brock made a saliva waterfall out of his tongue) for about five seconds. Finally, Ash looked down at Flamekist (ignoring the angered grumbles of a certain Electric mouse). "You up for a battle? It's okay if you don't want to."

The Houndour looked at him and then at the new trainer. After a few more such exercises of her neck, she frowned and looked down at the ground. _Yeah, I guess I am,_ she said quietly.

Grinning, Ash went into battle pose, answering the trainer. "You bet we wanna fight!"

Giving a big smile of her own, the trainer threw a Pokéball. "Pinkqueen! Go!"

Out of the ball popped one of the ugliest looking Pokémon in Pokémon history. It had a white snout, a white chest, a white mane tuft, and a white tail. Certainly all that white was seemingly innocent enough. The trouble came in the principle color of its body: hot pink. It wasn't a Jigglypuff or a Clefairy or some such round pink ball of cute Pokémon fluff; instead, it was a _Growlithe._

"Grooowlll," howled the hot pink Growlithe.

The three humans, Pikachu, and Flamekist all fell to the ground out of shock. Luckily, Togepi had been set down on the ground, or he might have been squashed. The egg Pokémon said obliviously, "Togepriiii!"

"Isn't Pinkqueen cute?" the girl asked, completely misinterpreting their shock. "Oh, by the way, my name's Taffy."

Ash and company, having gotten to their feet, stared.

_You ever dare compare me to _that_ thing, and I'll rip you limb from limb,_ muttered Flamekist to Ash.

The dark-haired trainer laughed (though his laughter did have a somewhat uneasy note in it), and Brock and Misty looked at him curiously, wondering what the Houndour had said.

"Ready to fight a one-on-one battle?" Taffy asked.

"Uh, yeah," Ash murmured. He looked at Flamekist. "Flamekist, let's go!"

"Dour!" howled the Houndour as she moved closer to the Growlithe. She would prove she was better than this pink monstrosity.

"Flamekist, Headbutt!"

"Hound," the Houndour said, ramming into the hot pink Growlithe.

"Grooowwl!" Pinkqueen complained loudly as she was thrown back.

"Pinkqueen, hang in there," said Taffy. "Use Leer!"

"Watch out," Ash inserted quickly, "and use Faint Attack."

The Houndour disappeared and reappeared, avoiding the Growlithe's attack and hitting her with the Dark-Type move.

"Good job, Flamekist! Now, Crunch!"

Pinkqueen whimpered; she was already weak, though the battle had barely started.

"Pinkqueen, use Agility, quick!" the Growlithe's trainer called.

The Pokémon used the speedy attack, zipping all over the battlefield quickly and dodging Flamekist's attack.

"Take Down, now!" Taffy ordered.

The Growlithe threw herself at her opponent, hitting Flamekist back a bit but barely affecting her.

"All right, Flamekist," Ash said, "use Swift!"

The Houndour threw a barrage of stars at her opponent, then used Mud-Slap at Ash's command, finally knocking Pinkqueen out.

Taffy gaped at the Fire- and Dark-Type. "Your Pokémon's strong," she said to Ash. "Pinkqueen's _never _been beat by another Fire Pokémon..."

"Flamekist's amazing," the dark-haired trainer offered simply.

"She's right. Flamekist _is_ unusually strong," Brock observed.

"She's a Houndour that doesn't hold back," Ash said proudly.

As Flamekist looked at him, she couldn't help but think about her time with his father...

_She stared at her "trainer." Hah. Trainer. What a word to apply to him. Brutal monster was more like it..._

_Oh, how she hated humans._

_"Houndour," his deep voice said, sparking a flash in her eyes. "Why are you holding back? You should have evolved by now. _He _won't like the fact that you haven't. He'll think I'm not training you hard enough..." He sighed. "You're leaving me with no choice." His hand moved to the Pokéballs at his waist, his voice gaining an edge. "Charizard, Gyrados, Alakazam, Tyranitar, Machamp, come out. Teach Houndour the meaning of the word "power.""_

_And she found herself faced with five fierce opponents. She, who was less than two feet tall, was to battle all of them._

_Growling, she steeled herself. She wouldn't evolve for him. She _wouldn't_. He could never _make _her._

"I thought I saw something on TV that said Houndour evolves at level 24 into Houndoom. Pinkqueen's _over_ level 24. How did your Pokémon beat her?" Taffy asked, pulling Flamekist out of her reverie. Questions were written in the female trainer's eyes.

"I don't think Pokémon should evolve if they don't want to," Ash said truthfully. "Pikachu didn't want to evolve, and I didn't make him, but he's still just as strong as any Raichu. Right, ol' buddy?" He looked at the electric mouse.

"Pi," Pikachu said without enthusiasm.

Taffy looked at Flamekist, admiring her. "That was a great battle. I'll have to train even harder now." With her new goal in mind, she recalled her Pokémon and disappeared into the distance, determined.

"That was _amazing_," Ash emphasized, gazing down at Flamekist.

_Your father trained me hard,_ she said simply, before walking forward as if they had already started their journey again.

Ash looked down at his clenched fists. His _father_...

_Ash was watching a show on Electric Pokémon on TV. They could do some pretty amazing things, he'd been thrilled to discover._

_"Low-level Electric Pokémon usually know Thundershock, which can be especially surprising for Water-Types," the narrator said._

_The screen showed a wild Pikachu shocking a Goldeen that had disturbed it._

_"Electric Pokémon are also effective against Flying-Types."_

_A Voltorb Thundershocked a Spearow which was flying around and taunting it._

_"Ash," a soft voice called, interrupting his musings on Electric-Types._

_The young boy turned. "Yeah?"_

_His mother came and sat beside him. She refused to meet his eyes with her red-rimmed ones. "You know how your father...resigned his title and left to go on his Pokémon journey away from Kanto?" This last part was hard for her to say. He'd left Kanto, where he could still have Pokémon battles while defending his title, to go elsewhere, away from his family. It still stung._

_Ash nodded, tears springing to his eyes. Ash had been so mean to him when he'd left. All Ash wanted now was for him to come back..._

_"Well..." Delia Ketchum was crying again. "He...He died in an accident. Oh, Ash," she gasped, burying him in her arms, finally sobbing without any restraint._

_The boy embraced his mother for a long while as the news sank in. His father was dead? How could Ash prove his worth as a Pokémon trainer to him if he were dead? He couldn't _really _be dead, could he?_

_Finally, the boy began to melt, and his tears began to join that of his mother's._

Ash's father wasn't really dead.

After all these years of acceptance concerning his father's death, it felt weird to think about it.

His father was still alive out there, somewhere, cruelly abusing Pokémon.

Ash hung his head in shame as he continued to follow his friends.

He hadn't told his mother that his father was still alive. He thought it better that she thought of him as dead rather than as a Pokémon abuser.

"Where are we going, Flamekist?" he asked, trying to keep his mind off the subject.

_Viridian,_ answered the Pokémon simply.

* * *

"So, what are we doing here, Ash?" Misty asked when they arrived at Viridian City. She didn't look too thrilled and clutched Togepi much tighter than usual. She had a strange feeling...

Pikachu grumbled something as Ash replied, "I dunno...Flamekist wanted to come here." He looked at the Dark Pokémon.

_Follow me,_ she said simply, and they did. Soon enough, she brought them to the Viridian Gym.

"Ash has already gotten his badge here," Brock noted, as if to say to Flamekist: 'What are we doing here?'

Ignoring him, the Houndour said simply to Ash, _Inside._

Despite sudden misgivings, the Pokémon trainer opened the door, and they all stepped inside.

"Uh, it's kinda dark," Ash observed.

_I'm sorry,_ Flamekist said briefly, before everything _really_ went dark.


	3. Revealing a Little of the Past

Ash Ketchum was swirling around in darkness.

Every now and then a few blurred colors would appear, but they'd just as soon vanish. Finally, the flashes of color began to coalesce into objects, but a sort of haziness still surrounded it all.

_He blinked. There was something strange happening. He looked down at himself and blinked again. Those weren't his clothes. He looked at his hands next. Those weren't his either..._

"Hey, Mark," a boy with red hair said, looking over at another boy, this one with brown hair. The redheaded boy was tending to his Pokémon. "You and Shura gonna feed your Pokémon? Or do you plan on standing there sulking all day?"

Ash looked over at the boy called Mark.

"I still say Bulbasaur's better," Mark said, reluctantly letting his two Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. A Bulbasaur and a Spearow popped out, both looking at their trainer happily.

"No way," Ash heard himself (was it himself?) saying. "Charmander could beat Bulbasaur any day."

"Only because Bulbasaur's at a disadvantage," Mark pointed out. "Charmander would be whopped by Stormy's Squirtle, but Bulbasaur could beat Squirtle, no problem."

Ash brought his (was it his?) arm down to his belt, letting loose his Pokémon. The first Pokémon to appear was a Charmander, but there was something different about it...It wasn't the Charmander he'd had before it had evolved into Charmeleon and then Charizard...

"Here you go, Shura," the redheaded boy said (was he _Stormy? one of his Pokémon _was _a Squirtle...), handing him some Pokéfood._

Things made a little more sense as Ash realized he was seeing things through the eyes of someone named Shura...

"Thanks," he heard himself say. After a moment, looking at the brown-haired boy, he added, "I'm just playing with you, Mark. Bulbasaur's a good Pokémon."

Mark softened. "Yeah, Charmander's great, too." He grinned at him. All was forgotten.

Something white seemed to flash beside him, and Ash tried to turn and see what it was.

Whatever it was, it was gone before he could truly see it.

The scene started to become fuzzy, the colors mixing together, and Ash began moving farther away from the realm of unconsciousness and dreamland...

He began to feel pain...

He had...a throbbing head...

The darkness...It was still pulling at him...

No, no, he _had_ to push the darkness back.

With a final burst of effort, he abruptly reached consciousness, immediately feeling a tingling sensation across his body. He worked moisture into his mouth, opened his eyes, sat up, and said simply: "Ow."

His vision was a little blurry at first, but when it came into focus, the sight before him surprised him.

Two men and a Pokémon were standing before him, a seemingly innocent enough picture.

The Pokémon was Flamekist, looking a little worried, or at least as worried as she got.

The humans...

"Hello, son," his father said, a brief smile flitting across his face. Ash studied the man's face in astonishment. It had been so long since he'd seen him...His father now had lines of hardship marking his face. It was no longer full of the joy Ash had often seen in it in his youth.

Ash's father appeared to want to say something to his son, but whatever it was, he kept the words unsaid. Instead, he said, gesturing to the man beside him, "I don't know if you remember him, but this is your uncle."

Ash blinked at him. His _uncle_?

_Little Ash was bouncing around the house. His dad was coming home again (he was the Pokémon League Champion and had been defending his title for more than ten years—a Kanto record—and often had to go places to make appearances or battle challengers), and Ash couldn't wait to hear his stories!_

"Mommy, when's Daddy coming home?" he asked for the thirteenth time.

"He should be home any minute," Delia Ketchum replied, also for the thirteenth time.

The doorbell rang, and Ash went bounding to his door ahead of his mother. "Daddy—" he said as he opened it, but he was soon gaping in shock.

It wasn't his daddy standing in the doorway.

"It's you," Delia said softly to the stranger as she came up behind her son. Her voice lacked its usual warmth, and it almost seemed chilling. She seemed to know this newcomer, but she didn't seem to like him.

"Is your husband home?" the man asked, smiling down at Ash.

The boy shivered. He didn't like the look in the man's eyes or _his sickly smile._

"No," Ash's mother said.

Ash looked at her, tugging at her sleeve.

Sighing, she informed him, "This is your uncle."

The boy's eyes went as wide as saucers. He hadn't known he'd had an uncle!

Delia tried to smooth his wild black hair out. "Ash, why don't you go on to your room and play? When Daddy comes, I'll send him to your room, okay?"

"But Mommy—" he whined.

"No buts." There was no arguing with her tone of voice.

"Fine," he said, slowly walking towards his room. He kept his ears perked to hear what the two adults were saying as he went.

"What do you want?" Delia was straight to the point.

"Just to talk to my brother. Is he coming home today?"

"Yes," Ash's mother said reluctantly.

"Good. Can I come in and sit down on the couch to wait for him? I promise to try to stay out of your way." Ash turned and saw him smile again, but there was just something wrong about his smile, something almost inhuman.

"All right," Ash's mother sighed.

Ash reluctantly passed out of earshot.

When his father finally came into his room quite some time later, Ash knew there was something wrong. His face was haggard, and his eyes had a strange look in them.

"Daddy!" Ash exclaimed running to him for a hug.

His dad embraced him gently. "Your old man's tired. You'll get some stories another time, okay, champ?"

Little Ash peered at him. "You talk to Uncle?"

"Yeah, I talked to your uncle." He looked down at his son, then bent down to put them at eye-level. "Listen to me. I want you to stay away from him, okay? Your uncle's got some problems. Let your mom answer the door for a while. If you're outside and you see him, come back in. If Mom lets him in, then go to your room, okay, champ?"

The boy nodded. "'Kay, Daddy."

The next day, his father was very upset. When Ash asked his mother why everyone was crying (she had cried earlier like Ash's father had, but whatever it was hadn't seemed to hit her quite as hard), she sat him down and explained what had happened to him slowly and carefully. "Some of daddy's friends died today." She bit her lip, trying to think of how to tell him. "You know your friends Gary and May Oak?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, Gary's parents, Rahalia and Mark, were killed by some very bad people. Gary and May are okay because they were with Professor Oak and Agatha, tending to Pokémon, but Daddy's very upset right now, and you need to leave him alone, okay?"

"Okay," Ash said, feeling his eyes start to tear up as memories came to him. Rahalia had always been really nice to him, sneaking him candy when his parents weren't looking, and Mark often talked to him about Pokémon and his and Rahalia's travels years ago. He was sad that they were gone...

He wanted to ask his mommy questions, but he knew she was too sad to talk much. He just needed to be like a big boy and be quiet and do as he was told. He wanted to ask his daddy questions, too, and ask him to tell him some stories, but he knew he had to wait. He would be a big boy.

A week later, his uncle had come to the house again, and Ash had gone to his room like he'd been told.

When his father came into his room, it was with a big box full of airholes...


	4. And then

"Ash?" his father said, persistently. Ash had zoned out, and he wasn't responding.

Ash shook his head slowly, wiping away the memories. "What's...going on?" Then he spouted the question that had been bugging him for a while: "How come you're not dead, Dad?" It felt weird for the word to be coming out of his lips. Dad. His father really _was_ alive...Ash bristled at the thought. Yes, he was alive, but he was _abusing _Pokémon. He was almost better off dead! Ash scowled. He would call his father "Dad" no more.

Ash's uncle smiled, seeing the play of emotions across the youth's face. He answered for his brother, who was now strangely quiet. "He faked his death to the public early on...Ashura was always _for_ making it easier on you and your mother." He threw a somewhat disapproving glance at his brother, but his glance held a sense of irony in it as well. "It's a bit of a weakness of his..."

"Where's—"

"Your friends and Pokémon are locked away for the moment, unharmed...For the moment." The older man gave the youth a sinister and meaningful look.

"You—"

Ashura's brother cut Ash off again. "I bet you're thinking back to the two times you saw me before, aren't you?"

Ash nodded slowly.

"Well, before I tell you about that story, I want you to know something, if you don't already: I, Giovanni Ketchum, am the _head_ of Team Rocket, and your father, Ashura Ketchum,...is a _member_ of Team Rocket."

* * *

Blue eyes opened and blinked at the fuzzy ceiling. "Unh...?"

"Misty!" Brock said, rushing to her. "You're finally conscious!"

"Where am I?" the confused redhead asked.

"We came to the Viridian City Gym, and then we got knocked out," Brock answered.

Misty sat up quickly. "Where's Ash?" she asked, sounding a bit frantic.

"I dunno. We've just been locked in here. No one's come and told me anything."

"Where are the Pokémon?" Misty asked, sounding a bit frantic. "Where's Togepi?"

"They were taken from us," Brock replied. "I don't know where they are..."

The redhead began looking worried. "What do you think they're doing to Ash?"

Brock didn't reply. He just gazed down at the ground sadly.

Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them, and Brock swiveled around on his feet and Misty turned her upper body.

"Mew," the cause of the noise said. A white feline with a long tail and big feet floated in the air in front of them.

"It's so cute," Misty breathed.

"Mew," the cat said, with a pleased little feline smile. It spun around in the air playfully. "Mewew..."

"Where'd you come from?" Misty asked it.

It disappeared, then reappeared beside Misty. She jumped, though she was still on the ground, and the Pokémon sniffed her. "Mew, mew," it said.

Brock gazed at it, amazed. "That might be a legendary Pokémon..."

Misty looked at the feline. "Can you help us get out of here?" There was almost a plea in her voice.

"Mew," the cat answered. It peered at Misty with big blue eyes, then Teleported over to the door. With its Psychic powers, it wasn't long before the locked door clicked open.

"Wow, thanks," Misty said.

"Mew," it replied, doing a somersault in the air. Its eyes seemed to dance playfully.

"Do you think you can help us get our Pokémon back?" Brock asked it.

"Mewew," the feline said before floating off into the corridor. It started heading in one direction, then looked back to make sure they were following it. Its tail twitched around as it flew towards its destination.


	5. Rocket

**Author's Note:** This story takes place right after Pallet Party picnic, where Pidgeotto evolves and leaves Ash behind. This is an AU, and for the purposes of this story, the first movie has not occurred yet regardless of its order in the episode line up, although Mewtwo _has_ been cloned.

On Ash's memory in chapter three, well, Mew _is_ a Psychic-Type...

* * *

Ash Ketchum stared at his father incredulously. He was a _member_ of Team Rocket?

"Let me explain," Giovanni said, and then as he began to give a rather one-sided account of the story to Ash, Ash's father thought back to his own memories of the event.

_He had just come back from yet another trip making an appearance as Pokémon League Champion. In a Pokéball at his side, Ashura Ketchum had a Houndour puppy he'd picked up that he just couldn't _wait _to give to his son. Man, he wanted to see the look on his son's face! Little Ash would finally have a Flamekist of his own!_

_When he came in the house, ready to embrace his son and kiss his wife, he was startled to see his brother sitting on the couch._

_"Hello, Shura," the man greeted with barely veiled contempt. 'Shura' had been a childhood nickname of Ashura's. He didn't mind it when his friends used it, but whenever he heard his brother use it, his blood boiled._

_"Giovanni," he returned, the gears in his mind working. What was he here for? What did he want?_

_Delia looked both grateful and regretful at her husband's appearance. "I'm going back to the bedroom to work on some things," she said as she got up and hurried out of the room. She had only met Giovanni once, and she had immediately disliked him. When coupled with all of the things her husband told her about him, Delia's feelings towards him were just short of hatred._

_Giovanni smiled a thin smile, malice gleaming in his eyes. "You have a lovely wife and a handsome young son."_

_Ashura clenched his fists. He wanted to punch that look right off his brother's face. "What do you want?"_

_"Perhaps you've heard of an organization called Team Rocket?"_

_The younger Ketchum snorted. "Who hasn't? It's a criminal organization made up of thieves that steal trainers'_ _Pokémon."_

_"Yes," nodded Giovanni in complete acceptance of the fact. He paused, then said, "Remember our younger days?"_

_Ashura did remember, though he didn't quite understand why Giovanni used "our." The two brothers, three years apart, had been nothing alike, sharing very few experiences together._

_Ashura had been good friends with Mark Oak and Stormy Waterflower, both well-behaved kids just like him._

_Giovanni, on the other hand,..._

_He was less than the ideal son, and Ashura, the youngest, was most definitely the favorite of their parents. At eight years of age, Giovanni had joined a gang, and he was as bad a kid as could be found anywhere, cursing, smoking, drinking, thieving—a regular scoundrel. The gang he was a member of was called Gang Rocket and even had a motto, which Giovanni had pounded into Ashura's head:_

_Gang Rocket blasts all away,  
And whoever tries to stop us surely will pay;  
We'll fight and bite and steal all they've got,  
And we'll make sure that we never get caught._

_Whenever they were about to get caught doing something they shouldn't, their codeword "blast" was used, and they all shot off like rockets in different directions._

_Ashura could remember many a time Gang Rocket had beat him up at Giovanni's instigation. Giovanni just couldn't stand all of the attention Ashura "Goody Two-Shoes" Ketchum always got from their parents, and he had always wanted to gain some control over his younger brother. Ashura, however, had always been too headstrong to do what Giovanni said._

_Ashura shook his head to clear it, finally answering, "Yeah, I do."_

_"I was a member of Gang Rocket," Giovanni said thoughtfully. "A primitive group, but it provided me with a necessary introduction to several things. Now, I am at the head of a criminal organization whose name will eventually be known throughout the entire world."_

_"Team Rocket," Ashura breathed. His _brother _was the head of Team Rocket?_

_Ashura Ketchum had always known that his brother was the criminal type, but for him to have organized such a powerful organization...Gang Rocket, Team Rocket...Why hadn't Ashura realized the connection sooner? Reluctantly, he answered that question to himself: he hadn't _wanted _to realize it._

_"Are you here to gloat?" Ashura spat._

_The criminal mastermind shook his head slowly, looking somewhat amused at his brother's irritation. "Patience, my brother. You always were lacking in that area, I know, but you must try to exercise it..." Giovanni's eyes glittered. "With your impatience, I'm surprised you made it to become Pokémon League Champion." Something in his gaze seemed to shift. "I heard the starter Pokémon you got from Professor Oak was a Charmander." He gave a malicious grin. "I thought that was a rather interesting choice...You were trying to do better than your brother, weren't you?"_

_Ashura met Giovanni's gaze, though he wanted nothing more than to avert his eyes...It was true._

_Giovanni had started his Pokémon journey at the age of ten with a Charmander. Ashura had later heard rumors that right after Giovanni left Pallet Town he had brutally trained his Charmander into a Charizard, and he didn't doubt that it was true._

_When Ashura had started his Pokémon journey, he had chosen a Charmander, determined to train the Fire-Type _right_, unlike his brother, who he knew had done it wrong._

_"Yes, you wanted to prove yourself better than me. When I started my journey, I was determined to prove myself as well. In my travels, I always discovered that I wanted the Pokémon that other people had. Few of the ones I myself could find—and I looked high and low—were powerful enough for me. One day, I saw a trainer who was riding a Dragonite land on the ground in front of me, and I knew right then and there that his Dragonite was_ mine_. I challenged him to a six-on-six Pokémon battle, discovering that the rest of his Pokémon were pathetically weak, for he had spent all of his time training his Dragonite. He saved the Dragon-Type for last, and I used my Gengar's Hypnosis attack to put both the Dragonite and his trainer to sleep. I took the Dragonite and made my escape._

_"After that, I began stealing more and more rare Pokémon from people, and at age twelve I went beyond stealing Pokémon, instead having _them _steal money from the bank in Goldenrod." Giovanni saw the look of surprise in his brother's eyes. "Yes, the Great Pokémon Bank Heist was the result of your brother's scheming." He smiled sinisterly. "Some members of my old gang, nearly as ambitious as me, caught up with me, and we finally started Team Rocket, with me at the head. It wasn't long before Team Rocket became a major organization, taking people's money and Pokémon at will...You would be surprised at all the rare and powerful Pokémon I've accumulated over the years."_

_"What do you want, Giovanni?" Ashura asked softly. His stomach churned. He had a bad feeling about this..._

_"You do not know?" Giovanni laughed. Then he became serious, his eyes narrowing. "I want you to come and work for Team Rocket. You are the Pokémon League Champion, a Pokémon prodigy—yes, I am willing to admit it—, and you will be a definite asset."_

_Ashura shook his head, his eyes flashing. "I'll never join you."_

_Giovanni seemed to be expecting this. "I thought you'd say such. But never say "never," my dear brother. I'm afraid you'll find that to be a mistake."_

_"Out, Giovanni," Ashura said, starting to raise his voice. He pointed to the door. "Get out!"_

_"Don't be so hasty, and keep your voice down," his brother said to him. "Wouldn't want the child to hear."_

_This time Ashura narrowed his eyes._

_"Our parents were...lovely people, weren't they?" Giovanni didn't seem to be expecting an answer. "Too lovely for my taste. In fact, they were so worthless and so unsupportive of me that I decided I had to return the favor..." With a sinister look in his eyes, Giovanni stared at his brother. His eyes seemed to be inviting Ashura to look into Giovanni's soul and learn all of his secrets._

_It was in that instant that he knew._

You!_" Ashura hissed. "_You _killed our parents!"_

_"Very good, my dear brother. That was an awfully fast revelation. I expected it to take you much longer than that." He gave a sardonic smile. "...You know, I never could stand worthless people."_

Out!_" roared Ashura Ketchum._

_The head of Team Rocket nodded, saying simply, "You're going to regret this." Then he walked out._

All of this flashed through Ashura's head in an instant. He tuned back in to Giovanni's story.

"Your father never liked submitting to my control. He hated it ever since we were younger. He refused, and I never allow people to refuse me. You do understand that, do you not, Ash Ketchum?"

Ash stared at him. "What do you want from me?"

Ashura winced, sensing a flicker of himself in his son.

"All in good time," the head of Team Rocket said.


	6. More Memories

**Author's Note:** Giovanni's story different from Ashura's version in that his emphasis is on different aspects of the incident.

* * *

"I told your father he would regret it, and the next day he did," Giovanni said, a malicious smile on his face.

_The understatement of the century,_ Ashura snorted to himself. He began thinking back...

_Dead._

_They were dead._

_Killed by his monster of a brother._

_He had known Mark for a long time, ever since they were little. Mark Oak, the son of Agatha and Samuel Oak, had set off on his Pokémon journey with Shura and their mutual friend Stormy Waterflower. Mark had chosen Bulbasaur as his starter Pokémon, and Stormy, who absolutely loved Water-Types, chose Squirtle. The trio had all made it to the Pokémon League at a young age. Stormy and Mark had failed in battle earlier on than Ashura did, though. Ashura had gotten to the last round before he had failed. They didn't let it get them down, however. They had gone traveling to other places to seek Pokémon battles. Giovanni had been right about one thing: Ashura _was _a Pokémon prodigy. His failure at the Pokémon League had been through no fault of his own; it was because of an illness he had picked up from a trainer's Raticate that had muddled his thinking. He hadn't been up to battling, but he had refused to drop out._

_Ashura Ketchum won many matches and cups on his journey with his friends. Stormy won nearly all of the Water competitions he competed in, and Mark usually won in battles that tested power. At the tender age of sixteen, Ashura became the Pokémon League Champion. He defended his title and continued traveling with Stormy and Mark. When Stormy was seventeen, he met a girl named Rose in Cerulean City who loved Water-Types just as much as he had, and she had then traveled along with the trio of boys._

_At eighteen, Stormy and Rose married and left the group, settling down and starting a Water Pokémon Gym in Cerulean City. Mark and Ashura had continued traveling together, and they were joined a few months later by a woman named Rahalia. When, at 25, Ashura's parents died in a mysterious accident, Rahalia and Mark had accompanied him to Pallet Town for the funeral. It was in Pallet Town that Ashura met his future bride, a young woman named Delia who had just moved to Pallet Town. A year later, Ashura and Delia, and Mark and Rahalia had a joint wedding, both couples settling down in the town of Pallet._

_Rahalia and Mark started their family with a daughter named May and then a son named Gary, and Ashura continued defending his title as he and Delia started their family of three with the birth of Ash around the time that Gary was born. Stormy and Rose had been far ahead of them, however; they'd already had four girls._

_Ashura Ketchum had been very close to Rahalia and Mark, and the deaths of Mark and Rahalia came as a stunning blow to him. It was fortunate that Samuel, Agatha, May, and Gary had not been killed, too, just as it was fortunate that Samuel and Agatha agreed to take care of May and Gary, raising the latter to be a good Pokémon trainer like Mark wanted him to be. Ashura and Delia had their hands full enough with Ash, and they would not have been up to taking care of another child._

_Still, Shura felt like he had a gaping hole in his heart, a hole he knew was caused by his brother._

_Giovanni had killed two people just because Ashura wouldn't do what he said._

_A week later, Ashura had still held back on giving the Houndour to his son, and when Giovanni came back to his home, he had a feeling that his time was almost up._

_"I told you that you would regret it," Giovanni said softly to Ashura. The latter had told his wife nothing of what Giovanni had said to him the week before._

_Ashura couldn't speak. He just trembled._

_"I hate to give threats," Giovanni said with a sarcastic smile, "but if you do not join Team Rocket, then I shall kill your beautiful wife and take and raise your precious son. Do you understand what I am saying?"_

_Fists clenched, Ashura Ketchum nodded slowly. "I...I understand. Give me a few hours, and then I'll—" he cut off, choked._

_"Come to Viridian City," Giovanni instructed. "Meet me at the Gym." And then he disappeared out the door._

Ashura snapped himself out of it.

"You see, Ash," Giovanni was saying to Ash, "Shura finally came to understand that nobody can refuse me."

It dawned on Ash suddenly. _Shura_ was Ash's father...The boy moved his gaze from his father to Flamekist, who was standing quietly by Shura's side, avoiding the young trainer's eyes. Things made a little more sense to Ash now. He had always wondered what had happened to Gary's parents.

"What do you want from me?" Ash asked softly.

"I saw your battle in the Pokémon League," Giovanni said. "You battled quite well and probably would have won if it hadn't been for those half-wits Jessie and James."

Ash looked at him sharply.

"Yes, I know your Pokémon were tired. You might have been able to win had they been fully rested...What is it I want?...Ash, I want you to become a member of Team Rocket."

Ashura closed his eyes, pained. He had tried to stop this proposal from happening, but Giovanni would have none of it.

_"He's only a boy," Ashura had insisted._

_"A boy who possesses great potential," Giovanni had returned. "I saw how he fought in the Pokémon League..." The man's evil eyes flashed. "Do you dare to question me? I can just as easily kill the boy and his mother. Would you prefer that? Your son and wife to die? Or would you prefer your son come and work for _me

Shura clenched his fists. Why did it have to be this way?

Ash's eyes widened as what Giovanni said tried to sink in. It was too much information too fast. _Him_? A member of Team Rocket?

Quickly, to buy time, Ash asked, "How come _she's_ here?" He looked at Flamekist.

Giovanni smiled, looking down at the canine. He bent down and gently stroked her.

She stiffened, but she did not move.

"Ah, Houndour," Giovanni said, smiling. "Merely a pawn in a master's game."

Ash's mouth gaped open, and he stared at the guilty-looking Fire- and Dark-Type.

"You see," Giovanni said, "she—" He cut off, his eyes having moved elsewhere. "How did _they_ get in here?" he inquired, looking straight at Misty, Brock, and all of their and Ash's Pokémon (excluding the ones left with Professor Oak).

Misty looked around quickly for her guide, but it had disappeared. So she answered, "That's for us to know and you to find out."

"Well, now that you're here Misty Waterflower—" Giovanni saw the flash of surprise in her eyes, "yes, I know your name." He gesticulated at the man standing silently beside him. "This man, Ash's father, knew your parents quite well...In fact," Giovanni's sinister expression grew in malice, "it was he that killed them."


	7. Next chapter

Misty stared at the evil-looking man, feeling as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt. Ash's father had killed her parents?

In desperation, she looked to Ash, who was wearing a look of shock. Misty herself felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

She was standing in the room with her parents' murderer...And he was her best friend's father.

"You—you lie," Misty whispered haggardly, trying to grasp at the hope that it wasn't true.

"I may be the head of Team Rocket, but I do not lie."

"No!" the blue-eyed girl exclaimed. "How...How could..."

"I demand complete loyalty," Giovanni said, "and I dislike being opposed. Your parents, I am afraid, were big opponents of my taking over the Viridian Gym, and they posed many problems for other members of Team Rocket as well. So, I decided to kill two Pidgey with one stone. I would have my brother kill two of his best friends to prove his loyalty to me, all the while wiping out two people who were posing as an incredible nuisance."

Misty's breathing quickened as her animosity-filled gaze flickered back and forth between Ash's father and Giovanni. _They_ were the reason her parents had died.

Giovanni saw that the girl was suitably paralyzed for the moment, and, since the boy Brock wasn't talking, he turned back to Ash. "You were wondering about Houndour, weren't you?"

Ash merely stared, still shocked at what all he'd learned.

"She was thrown out into the streets of Viridian City with an objective: to bring you back alive to Rocket Headquarters. She was to play the part of an angry, abused Pokémon, so that with a little maneuvering by some Team Rocket members she would wind up in the hands of Professor Samuel Oak. I knew you were in Pallet Town, of course, and I also knew of your nosiness, Ash."

At this, Ash started, a little fire coming back into his eyes.

"I knew that Jessie and James were too unreliable to bring you to Viridian, and most of the other Team Rocket members were detained elsewhere, so I sent your father's Pokémon, enjoying the irony of it." Giovanni smiled, his white teeth gleaming in the light, giving him a dangerous appearance.

"You're an evil man," whispered Misty, trembling in rage and sadness.

Giovanni laughed. "One can never test one's servants too many times. I was interested in determining both Houndour's and Ashura's loyalties. Had Houndour failed to obey my orders, the situation would have been easily remedied by my agents in Pallet Town, who would have put her to death. I preferred, however, to get you to Viridian by less conspicuous means than kidnapping you from your hometown. Houndour did the job quite well. Despite her refusal to evolve, she is a worthy servant."

Ash Ketchum looked down at the ashamed Houndour, his eyes blazing, then he tore his gaze away, unable to look at her any longer. "You may have gotten them to work for you, but I never will."

Giovanni looked as if he had suspected such a statement from Ash. "Not even for the life of your mother and your friends?"

It felt like a knife went into Ash's heart. "What?" he said shakily.

"I told you what I did before so that you would realize that I mean business." Giovanni stared at him with his cruel eyes. "Or must you suffer as your father did to find out that I _will_ have what I want?"

Unnoticed by all, with the exception of Brock, who was making many different observations during his silence, Ash's father was trembling. His fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides, and he seemed to be facing a decision. Houndour, too, seemed to be facing some sort of dilemma.

Ash stared at the head of Team Rocket defiantly. "I won't join you."

Giovanni sighed, sounding weary. "Very well. Ashura," he raised his voice, looking at his brother. The sable-haired man's head snapped up sharply. "Have your Houndour show your son what happens when he tries to defy me."

Ashura Ketchum swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat. "Houndour—" he said, his voice breaking.

The Pokémon raised her head, her eyes slowly becoming more defiant as she looked her trainer in the eyes. _My name is Flamekist._

At this, Ashura began to tear up. He scrunched his eyes closed, feeling worse than he would have had he just taken a physical blow. "You were a reminder of all that I had left behind, you know," Ashura said, not caring that his brother was listening to the words he was addressing towards Flamekist. He needed this moment for himself. "When Giovanni forced me to be harsh in training my Pokémon...I—I'm sorry I took most of it out on you...But then you never evolved, leaving me with the image of my son rejecting you, a little Houndour, and rejecting me at the same time...It just threw more wood onto the fire of my frustration..." His voice fell to a whisper. "I'm so sorry..."

_Somehow, in my heart, I knew it to be so,_ Flamekist said, trembling. And with that admission, a little of the pain surrounding her heart melted away.

"Ashura!" snapped Giovanni. "Put this pitiful weakness of yours aside and do as I say!"

Flamekist's eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth in a feral grin. _We'll see who's weak,_ she growled, preparing to leap at Giovanni and end his life.


	8. Clarification

A shout from Ash stilled the hatred-filled Houndour.

"No! Flamekist, don't do it! If you kill him, that'll make you no better than _he_ is!"

The Fire-Type hesitated. He was right. She knew he was right. But—

A voice suddenly spoke in everyone's heads. You may not let her kill him, but I, Mewtwo, shall without regret.

A large white feline with sinisterly glowing eyes floated forward in the air, preparing an energy ball to shoot at Giovanni.

"Mew!" cried the Pokémon that had earlier been Misty's and Brock's guide, Teleporting in front of the larger Pokémon and hovering there in a protective bubble. The smaller Pokémon spoke to Mewtwo frantically and quickly.

You cannot stop me, Mew, Mewtwo said, interrupting the frantic feline. This debt of mine must be repaid. I do not believe in rebirth, nor this Great War you speak of. I know only that I must kill _him_. While distracting Mew with conversation, Mewtwo managed to get around the small feline, sending an energy ball straight at Giovanni.

The expression on the Team Rocket head's face was not scared or angry or hate-filled. Instead, his was a look of evil satisfaction, as if he had _wanted_ to be killed. He did not even attempt to dodge the energy ball or order a Pokémon take the attack for him.

The energy ball hit, and Giovanni's body disappeared.

"Mew," said the little feline sadly, looking defeated. Giovanni had been killed.

"He's gone," gasped Ashura, disbelieving. How could it be so?

Yes, Mewtwo affirmed, lashing his powerful tail in the air.

"What _is_ Mewtwo?" Brock asked as he looked at Mewtwo, his voice low. He was unable to take in the fact that the crime lord's body had just disappeared, so he was trying to address another issue.

"A clone created by Giovanni," answered Ashura Ketchum, quivering in shock. He still couldn't believe that his brother was actually gone. _How?_ he wondered again, desperately.

That debt has been repaid, said Mewtwo, but I have still more debts towards mankind—

Mew began jabbering away at Mewtwo once again, and the two Pokémon floated further away from the group to have a more private and extended conversation.

Everyone still looked uneasy at the sudden presence of Mewtwo, but they knew they must use what time they had for other things. They would not be able to get rid of Mewtwo very easily.

Misty took this moment to yell. "_How could you kill my parents?_"

Ashura Ketchum flinched. "It wasn't like you think it is..."

"Oh? Then how was it?" Misty glared.

Meekly, Ashura spoke, avoiding her eyes. "Giovanni ordered me to shoot your parents, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't just take their lives. My female Rocket partner, Jade, got angry at me. We had a Pokémon battle right outside the Cerulean Gym, and my Charizard's flames got out of control. I recalled him, and I tried to use my Gyarados to put out the fire, but Jade knocked me out and drug me away. Afterwards, she told Giovanni that we both started the fire."

Misty softened somewhat, but the pain of losing her parents was still in her mind.

"But you did abuse your Pokémon," Brock stated.

"Only because Jade and Giovanni forced me to be. I had to give in...I didn't even want to train Houndour...Flamekist," Ashura corrected, "at first, but I finally did...I'm sorry I was cruel to all of my Pokémon, but I was especially harsh to her, and for that I am even more sorry."

"I'm sorry I was mean to you when you tried to give her to me...I didn't know you were being forced to leave..." Ash said quietly. He felt terrible. "When I saw Houndour and heard that you were alive..."

"It's okay, Ash. I'm sorry, too."

Flamekist finally spoke. She, too, felt ashamed. _And I'm sorry for my deception...When I was turned out into the streets of Viridian, I wasn't supposed to fight as hard as I had. I thought it was my opportunity to get away from humans once and for all, and I didn't want to follow Giovanni's orders. When I got caught I was angry, for I had thought I would be able to avoid it. My anger just continued to build, and finally Rage took over around the time I nearly killed you, Hound-houn. I wanted to just disobey Giovanni and stay in Pallet Town, but I saw something in you. I saw your kindness, and a glimpse of your inner light, and I wanted to travel with you more...Going to Viridian...It was my excuse for traveling with you. After we got here, I felt so ashamed, like a traitor..._

Ash moved over towards her, lightly petting her. "It's okay, Flamekist, I forgive you."

It was then that the Houndour began to glow, causing Ash to jump back.

He watched in awe as she became bigger, evolving into a Houndoom.

"Flamekist, you—"

_Yes,_ the canine said with a toothy grin. _I decided not to hold it back anymore._

Ash laughed, throwing his arms around her neck and startling her. She moved her head away at first, then finally rested it on his. _Hound-houn..._ she whispered.

Ashura Ketchum smiled, his eyes glistening with tears. "Ash," he said softly. The youth looked up at him. "I want you to take her...That is, if she'll have you?"

"Doom!" howled the Pokémon excitedly, even venturing to lick Ash's face. The boy laughed.

A tear slid down Ashura's cheek, and he said to his son, "There's another Pokémon I'd like you to have as well."

His son looked at him curiously.

"Follow me," instructed the man, and the group did so with a last glance back at the two felines who were still deep in discussion.


	9. New Pokemon

"First," Ashura said, "here are your Pokémon." He handed the five balls to Ash, who immediately opened the one with the lightning bolt on it to let out a very disgruntled Pikachu.

"Pika-pi!" cried the electric mouse, brightening and jumping into Ash's arms. Ash laughed, hugging him to his chest.

_I'm so sorry, Pika-pi,_ apologized Pikachu. Evidently, confinement was enough for the Electric-Type to retract his anger and be glad for what he had: a trainer who loved and respected him.

"It's all right," Ash told him with an understanding smile. He put the five balls at his belt.

"Here's Flamekist's Pokéball," Ashura said, giving the ball to his son.

It was put at his belt as well.

Next came a few empty Pokéballs. "I want you to have these, Ash," Ashura said.

"Thanks," the youth said, accepting them.

Ashura turned back to the wall of Pokéballs. "These are yours, Brock," he gave them to the trainer, "and these are yours, Misty."

Misty took the balls, and immediately Psyduck came out of his. "Psy?" he said, tilting his head.

The redhead laughed at him. "You stupid duck."

Misty let out Togepi, who trilled at her, holding small arms out to be held. The little egg had been placed in a Pokéball.

"Giovanni wouldn't let me have anyone other than Flamekist out there with me," said Ash's father. He began taking Pokéballs and clipping them to his belt as he named them. "This is my Charizard, my Gyarados, Alakazam, Tyranitar, Machamp, Steelix..." He paused at one Pokéball. "This is my Ampharos. For some reason, after I joined Team Rocket, I never trained her, though I did keep her...She's my one untainted Pokémon; the rest I'll have to coax back into their old selves, if they'll have me...I want you to have Ampharos, Ash." Ashura handed the Pokéball to his son, who took it.

The Pokéball that was Muk's shivered and then disappeared, going to Professor Oak's lab. Ash frowned but didn't question it. Instead, he released Ampharos out of her Pokéball.

The Pokémon looked at him weirdly, then turned and looked at Ashura curiously.

"You're going with Ash, now," the man said. "He's my son, and he'll take good care of you...Better care than I've been taking of you..."

Ampharos blinked for a moment, then turned and looked at Ash. "Amph," she said, holding out a paw to Ash.

Smiling, the youth shook it. The Pokémon nodded, satisfied, and Ash recalled her.

"Oh!" said Ashura. "Here's a TM I was saving for when Flamekist evolved. It's TM 15, and it contains Hyper Beam." He handed the Technical Machine to the youth.

Ash looked at the Houndoom. "You wanna learn Hyper Beam?"

"Doom!" said the Pokémon enthusiastically.

One more moment, and it was done.

"Now, let's start doing something I wanted to do long ago," Ashura said.

The three youths and the three Pokémon looked at him curiously. "Psy?" asked Psyduck.

"Release Giovanni's Pokémon. Ash, do you want to do the first one?"

The youth nodded, going to a Pokéball, enlarging and releasing it.

Out popped a red-and-white bird with a sack.

"Delibird," Ashura observed. "Delibird," he said to it, "you're free to go wherever you want."

"Deli," it said, shaking its head. It cawed, eyes glistening.

"Looks like it wants to battle," Brock said.

"All right," Ash said, "if it's a battle it wants, it's a battle it gets. Pikachu, go!"

"Pika!" the electric mouse called out, cheeks sparking.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

The Electric-Type zipped towards the Ice- and Flying-Type, hitting it. Then it retaliated with Icy Wind, causing Pikachu to pause.

"Pika," the mouse whimpered.

"Don't let that get you down, Pikachu! Agility!" Ash cried out.

"Pika!" the Pokémon said with a nod, sprinting around.

Delibird's Blizzard missed the rodent, barely, and, with an order from Ash, Pikachu used Thunder, easily knocking the bird out.

Ash hastily threw one of the empty Pokéballs at Delibird, though he did it a bit unsurely, since he didn't know if he'd be able to catch Giovanni's Pokémon, even _if_ Giovanni were gone.

The Pokéball worked, however, and after a moment Ash jumped up and down with the realization that he'd gotten _another_ new Pokémon.

Strangely, this Pokéball did not disappear like Muk's had. Ash frowned in confusion. Now he had seven Pokéballs with him...

"Good work, Ash," Ashura commented. He turned back to Giovanni's other Pokéballs, only to watch as they disappeared. "What—?" he gasped.


	10. Last chappie

In the next room, two floating and talking felines paused as a surge of evil power came over them.

_He's back,_ Mewtwo said softly in Mew's head, more to himself than the other Pokémon.

Mew stared straight at Mewtwo. _Now do you understand what I was trying to tell you?_

The larger feline lowered his head. _Yes._ He closed his eyes. _I must atone for what I have done..._

Mew nodded. _You shall._

The humans came back into the room, looking confused. The two felines turned towards them.

"Giovanni's Pokéballs just disappeared," Shura Ketchum said, scratching his head. "I just don't understand it."

_And you don't want to,_ Mew said quietly, though no one heard her. Reluctantly, the feline spoke psychically in a feminine voice. _There is an important conversation we must have, but—_ Mew cut off as a bird materialized in the air in front of her.

Ash's Pidgeot stood on the floor in front of them, looking confused. "Pidge?" he asked.

The bird's Pokéball materialized onto Ash's belt. He stared down at the bird, looking confused. "Huh? I thought you stayed to help protect the other birds near Pallet..."

"Mew," said the small feline, getting everyone's attention. _You will learn more about why Pidgeot's here soon enough. But, first, there's someone I think you'd like to see._

In walked the last person in the world Ash would have expected to see.

Delia Ketchum blinked in confusion. "I just don't understand it. There was this voice in my head that told me to come to the Viridian Gym and wait until the doors opened. I wouldn't have come, but Mimie seemed to know something about it, and he encouraged me to come. Are you all right, A—" she looked up and saw Ashura Ketchum, and she faltered. "Shura?" she whispered.

"Delia?" the man said, swallowing. Was it really her?

"Shura!" she exclaimed, running towards him with tears in her eyes. She embraced him, sobbing softly against his chest. "I thought you were dead."

Ashura smiled sadly down at her, encircling her with his arms. "In a sense, I _was_ dead."

"What happened?" she asked, pulling back and looking up at him.

Ashura took a deep breath and proceeded to explain everything to her. Pikachu, standing nearby, listened to everything with an attentive ear. Even Ash and his friends listened some to catch more of the story.

As he listened, Ash watched his parents with a smile. They were back together at last.

He felt an immense joy bubbling up inside of him, but he also had a strange sense that something not nearly so joyful was looming on the horizon. He tried pushing the feeling to the back of his mind. He needed to enjoy this moment. It had taken so long to come...

Misty moved closer to him, and he turned slightly, smiling at her.

"They're finally back together," Misty whispered, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," Ash said with a grin. "_Yeah_," he asserted more forcefully. "Together."

Misty got an "aww, how romantic" look in her eyes. "They really love each other..." She hesitated. "Ash, do you think you'll ever get married?"

The youth turned and looked at her in shock. Brock, who was standing some distance away, silently guffawed.

"Uh, I'm just worried about training my Pokémon right now, Misty," Ash said, deflecting the question nervously.

Misty nodded, deep in thought.

"Hey, champ," Shura called. "C'mere."

His face shining, Ash rushed over to his parents, giving and receiving a much-enjoyed hug.

Brock and Misty exchanged meaningful glances. "I'm so happy for him," Misty said quietly.

"Yeah. Looks like things are finally going right for him," Brock commented.

Flamekist and Pikachu looked at each other, then at Ash, then back. Pidgeot just stood blinking.

"Doom?" tried the Fire-Type tentatively, holding out a paw.

The electric mouse stared at her for a minute, thinking over what he had heard from Ashura. He trusted the man for reasons he didn't understand, and could he really stand to still doubt his Pika-pi? Pikachu remained motionless for a few more moments. "Pika," he said finally, taking her paw in his and shaking it.

The two Pokémon grinned at each other, most, but not all, of their differences forgotten.

Mew and Mewtwo watched the various exchanges silently.

Everyone thought the bad was over with.

What they didn't know was that the bad had just begun.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The sequel to this story is named "Resurrection of Evil." 


End file.
